titles says it all i would love to hear yalls input on this because i cant decide which one i want to swap into my xj

 

sbc with tbi i suppose

 

The two are worlds apart, what is the intended purpose of the build? My personal would be to head towards the Mercedes, but that is because I don't look at the Cherokee as a hot rod but as a wheeler. The only advantage the stroker has is the high rpm hp, which would make driving on the street way more... well exciting.

 

I would do the sbc for ease of parts.

 

If you are looking to do something that takes time and lots of work and "out of the box" so to speak. The Benz is the way you want to go.

Do you have both of these already? I personally am planning on a GM Gen3/4 truck/ls swap. Novak makes pretty much all you need to do the swap, whether its LS style or earlier.

 

not to mention a proper 383 will make 2-3x the power a stockish om617 will.

 

SBC for Parts Availability. Good luck finding parts for a Benz in remote areas while wheeling if you break down.

 

This

 

Another vote for SBC.

 

1st post? yea, this will happen.

 

383 all the way.

 

People read way too much into post counts, that mean nothing in the real world.

 

Go with the diesel option. Gas is over rated.

 

A well built well maintained engine shouldn't break down on the trail, not saying things don't happen. I know a high hp high rpm engine sounds cool and pry would do well in mud bogs, but would be a nightmare on trails and over all reliability of the whole vehicle.

 

well this is gonna be a streetable trail/mud vehicle its currently on 31's with a 4.5in lift i would love to do the diesel engine because of the reliability of diesel and the gas mileage would be better plus i hear that you can get a decent amount of power out of the Mercedes just by turning the fuel up and changing the turbo but the power of the 383 is enormous and i do currently have a 383 in my garage. btw it has carburetor not EFI